troy >> A letter written by the Troy Police Benevolent and Protective Association’s former president to residents of City Council District 4, which calls upon their representative to step down for his actions surrounding the Kokopellis’ incident in January, during which six police officers were injured, were mailed on Thursday.

The three-page document from Bob Fitzgerald starts: “Now that the dust has settled at Kokopellis, I want you to know the truth about what your Councilman Bob Doherty has been up to lately. It actually pains me to write this letter about a man that I once supported in so many ways.”

Fitzgerald, whose last day as PBA president was last Wednesday, states in the letter that Doherty “stirred up the community in a way that placed every officer in danger.”

But Doherty asserted on Wednesday that he never was critical of the police and felt that “the facts on Kokopellis needed to be known.”

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“I am the Chair of the City Council Public Safety Committee. I gained agreement from all committee members, which included Police Chief John Tedesco, to refrain from challenging or arguing with speakers,” said Doherty, after reading the letter that was distributed in his district Thursday. “We conducted the Public Safety meeting and heard all views. Among the speakers were Officer Fitzgerald and Chief Tedesco and many police advocates who provided a balance to expressions of suggestions for improvement or criticism.”

Fitzgerald said he wanted to make sure to address this situation before stepping down since it was during his watch on the PBA. In the letter, he emphasized that the officers were injured but no patrons were injured by the responding officers. Then, in the weeks after the incident, a march was held and meetings were held about the topic.

“Your councilman decided to assist a ‘street reverend’ to bash the police department. A rally march was held for a group to shout at the police chief and the officers. A meeting was held by your councilman that allowed this group (very few were from Troy) to bash the police,” stated the letter which was written by Fitzgerald but authorized to be written by the PBA.

Doherty countered: “The Mayor and the Troy Police conducted news events. The African American Pastoral Alliance announced a March Against Police Brutality that terminated at a Public Safety Committee already scheduled for February 4....Along with the City Council and the Chief of Police, I supported a review of the incident, which has never occurred. I also support not closing a business until a decision to do so is compelling and based on established findings.”

The city’s ethics commission looked into Doherty attending a State Liquor Authority meeting with Kokopellis’ owner.

“They asked me to attend on May 29th and I did. It was fully remedied. Our counsel, Joe Liccardi, just requested written documentation of that finding from Rev. Shaw, the Chair of the Ethics Commission. The City Code specifically authorizes a Councilman to advocate for constituents, providing they are not compensated. We had a warm discussion about Troy needing civility. Today is a good example of that,” said Doherty.

Fitzgerald, however, wondered why the same support was not there when other businesses had been shut down following police issues, including the Broadway Brew Biergarten.

“Bob Doherty has really let the Troy Police officers down...I would now ask you to call on Bob Doherty to step down from his position on the Troy City Council. I will do the same. He has proven to all of us that he would rather protect a bar owner instead of his true constituents,” Fitzgerald concluded in the letter.

Doherty said he had no intention of stepping down. He said he would consider it if he thought he did something wrong. “But that’s not the case,” Doherty said. “It’s a big unfortunate situation. I think Officer Fitzgerald personalized the issue. I wish Officer Fitzgerald a peaceful and happy retirement, he has been a tireless advocate for his membership.”